Adsorption of perfluorinated acids onto soils: Kinetics, isotherms, and influences of soil properties

Abstract

The adsorption of perfluorinated acids (PFAs) onto soils with different physicochemical properties was investigated in this study. The adsorption kinetics for all PFAs onto the soil with the highest contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and iron oxide were well described by a biexponential adsorption model, indicating that two types of binding sites characterized by a fast and a slow sorption rates were involved in the adsorption, and the time required for achieving adsorption equilibrium was <48 h for all PFAs. The adsorption isotherms were well represented by both of Freundlich equation (R2 = 0.9547–0.9977) and/or Virial equation (R2 = 0.8720–0.9995). The interfacial capacitances derived from the Virial isotherm were substantially low (in the range of 33.7 to 851 μF/m2) for all soils, but were not analyte-independent for all PFAs onto the same soil. The linear regression between distribution coefficient (Kd) and individual soil property as well as principle component analysis were conducted for determining the dominant soil physicochemical properties affecting the adsorption of PFAs onto soil in the present study. The results indicated that the content of protein rather than of total organic carbon (TOC) was the dominant property, and then followed by anion exchange capacity (AEC) and the content of iron oxides. For the other properties, the influences of fulvic acid (FA) and aluminum oxides were PFA-dependent, while there were no effects of saccharide, humic acid (HA), specific surface area (SSA) and cation exchange capacities (CEC) on the adsorption.